December 16, 2025 • 35 mins
From the NYT Best Selling author of "Christmas Jars", the book that started a viral world-wide movement, Jason F. Wright with his wife, Kodi Wright, are giving us "Christmas Jars Cookbook".
This delightful guide, full of stunning photos by Kodi, offer countless new ideas for gifting, answering the question, "What can I put in the jars besides money?"
Jason and Kodi join us today to share some backstory, speak to the ideas in the new cookbook, catch us up on their family, and spread some of their infectious Christmas spirit! Join us, you'll be so glad you did!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Well, friends, it's here or nearly here. Christmas, that is
the big day. So how are you holding up? Are
you stressed and depressed or do you feel the joy?
The season is meant to inspire If you're struggling, today's
(00:26):
podcast guest might be able to help. Twenty years ago,
a book called Christmas Jars hit the shelves, a heartwarming
story about an aspiring journalist, Hope, who discovers a jar
of money left on her doorstep after her apartment was
(00:47):
broken into. Hope's curiosity leads her to investigate the holiday
phenomenon of jars filled with money anonymously donating to those
in need, and she uncovers the family who started the tradition.
More important than the gifters' identities, Hope learns about love, forgiveness,
(01:13):
and the true meaning of Christmas. The two thousand and
five New York Times bestseller, written by Jason F. Wright,
inspired a viral real world tradition. It led millions of
people to start their own Christmas Jars tradition, creating a
cycle of giving and kindness. And while the story of
(01:36):
Hope was fictional, the Christmas Jars tradition was not. It
was based on a personal family practice of Jason and
his wife Cody, who tell me the very first Christmas
Jar was literally a recycled pickle jar on the right's
family's kitchen counter, sticky because Jason forgot to rinse it out.
(02:00):
It was just a young family tossing in spare change,
planning to give it away at Christmas time. When the
book was first released, they hoped a few people might
pick up on the idea. Instead, families, classrooms, churches, and
entire neighborhoods joined in this tradition every state in the
(02:23):
US and more than a dozen other countries. To date,
there have been millions, millions, millions of dollars given away, and,
as Jason puts it, lives changed on both sides of
the jar. The movement grew into a book sequel, a
feature film, a podcast, and thousands of kindness stories. From simple,
(02:50):
meaningful and humble beginnings, great things are born now celebrating
its twenty year anniversary, and Cody have just released Christmas
Jars cookbook, which is in the right tradition far more
than this title suggest. It was inspired by the question
(03:12):
they received often, what else can we put in the jars?
I mean, besides money? Cody and Jason answered, offering a
host of new ideas, recipes, mixes, crafts, gifts made by
hand in heart. Today, as the big day draws near
and we're scrambling to finish our to do list, I
(03:36):
am so delighted to welcome Jason and Cody Wright to
Love Someone. These two know the reason for the season,
and they are happy to share some very real ways
we can get around bypass the over commercialization and joyfully
(03:56):
celebrate that Babe in the main, I'm so happy to
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and Love twenty four. Welcome my Friend, Welcome aboard to
Love Someone Holiday Style Holiday Edition and with me on
today's show, Jason and Cody Wright, how many how many
(06:11):
years are you too? Like celebrating this team?
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Oh, you better take that one.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Cody, of course, very good, Jason, very good. That was
a wise move, noticing just like a basketball player, he
just pivoted there on the court and said, let's hand
that out to the wife.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
So I think I think this year thirty two, right.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Thirty two?
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Yeah, that is amazing, And how many this Isn't this
the anniversary of the original Christmas Jars book.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
It is twenty years and you probably don't remember because
you've interviewed eleven million, five hundred thousand people since then.
But I was on your show that first year you were.
I think you were one of my very first In fact,
you may have been the very first national radio interview
that I did, and that was back in two thousand
(07:06):
and five.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
And then after that, I because Craig Kitchen at the
time was working with me and Glynn, we passed you
off and boom, next thing I know, I see you
all over the place. I was like, thank you Jesus.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Oh, thank you Delilah.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
That's what we say.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
You were hugely going. So I still have that original
interview that we did saved on my laptop. It's fun
to go back and reminisce about those good old days.
Hard to believe it's been twenty years.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Do you feel like it's been twenty years? Do you
two feel like twenty years of passing to that conversation,
because to me, it's been like two months, maybe maybe
two years.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
Well, yes and no.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
I mean when I look at our kids and where
they are now versus where they were then, yes, it
feels like a lot of time has passed. But year
to year, no, you know, I mean it's still we
still get stories every year, which is fantastic. That's like
our favorite part about Christmas is the stories that start
rolling in of people who gave a jar, people who
(08:14):
got a jar, and so in that respect, no, it
feels still brand new, like, you know, like it did then.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
So let's go back for those who weren't around twenty
years ago. It's so weird that I have young adults
that were born after nine to eleven, Like I have
children who are working in the workfield, who have careers,
who pay taxes who were born after nine to eleven,
(08:43):
which just like blows my mind. But let's go back
to the original Christmas jars because it was such a sweet,
simple story and such a sweet, simple, generous concept, and
it snowballed into this beautiful, generous movement. So Jason, take
(09:07):
us back to the original story, the original book, the
original story of Hope.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Yeah, Hope. That's a great setup, isn't it. So we
found ourselves in the fall of two thousand and four
feeling like we wanted to do something different, a different
family tradition, something that got the kids involved, that wasn't
just a mom and dad thing. And so we came
up with a very simple idea of a jar on
(09:33):
the counter that we would put our spur change in
every night, back when we actually generated a fair amount
of change on a daily basis, right before the virtual
world we live in now. And that jar filled up
from mid October until Christmas Eve, and very much like
you might imagine in a Hallmark movie, we sat around
and came up with a list of people that might
benefit from the contents of that jar, and chose a
(09:57):
family from church that we knew, you know, it wasn't
going to change their life, but eighty something dollars would
be a blessing as it landed on their porch. And
so we bundled up and made that that jar delivery
in our little mini van and That's one of our
all time favorite family memories to think back on, not
realizing that that first jar on that first night would
(10:19):
become then a book and a movement in a movie.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
A book, a movement a movie. And if you were
to Gus, Jason or Cody, either one of you, how
many millions of dollars and how many thousands, millions of
lives have been touched by that one decision that one Hey,
(10:48):
you know, let's let's make Christmas magical and special in
a way that will you know, help truly help somebody.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Yeah, we we did a little bit of math a
couple of years ago, sat down with our company's attorney
and went through all the stories that had come in
that had dollar amounts attached to them, talked to the
publisher to sort of do a little bit of math
on how many books had sold, and we came up
(11:17):
with a figure around eight million dollars that we feel
is pretty safe and probably conservative. And the miracle of
that number is that's almost entirely loose change. I mean,
if you can visualize eight million dollars worth of pennies, nicolas, dimes,
and quarters, that's that's when it starts to really become
(11:37):
almost overwhelming the ripple effective that night.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
And how many years ago?
Speaker 3 (11:43):
Was that three years ago?
Speaker 2 (11:44):
So you could you could add another whatever five percent
onto that, maybe for a current number, but yeah, so
that was twenty years ago.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
That's amazing and lives how many? How many stories have
you gotten that just take your breath away. I got
a call last night from a listener who's been listener
for more than thirty years and her daughter was the
recipient of a double lung transplant three years ago and
(12:17):
when the one year mark passed, the donor's family reached
out and contacted them and they have become best best
best friends, these two moms. And I was ugly crying,
I mean snot running, ugly crying during the call. And
(12:38):
when people give selflessly, generously, whatever it is, it changes everything.
And you guys get story after story like that. I mean, Cody,
do you just sit there and snot cry and tissues
when people write to you and tell you how these
gifts have impacted them?
Speaker 4 (13:01):
Yes, I mean absolutely, I mean even I mean, you
know you have the big stories. I mean one of
my favorites isn't even a family who financially needed it,
but they you know, tragically and unexpectedly lost their father
Thanksgiving weekend, and two weeks later, their community lined They
(13:23):
were out for the evening and their community came and
lined the walkway to their house with jars filled with
candles and then on the porch where I don't know
what was it like twenty twenty to thirty jars filled
with money and notes and you know, just we're thinking
of you and we're here for you sort of thing.
(13:46):
And that one still resonates with me because there's so
many people out there who might financially not need the help,
but they need to be seen, they need to know
there are people they can lean on, you know. I
mean the financial thing is fantastic when you hear the
story of a family who didn't have Christmas and then
a jar ends up on their porch on Christmas, you know,
(14:07):
two days before Christmas, and they can go by gifts,
and I mean they're endless. The stories people tell people
whose houses burned down and jars show up to you know,
help them put their lives back together, and I mean
they go on and on, but yes, they I mean,
and throughout our life this is you know, twenty years
(14:30):
we just we just connected with someone who was like,
oh my goodness, I didn't know you wrote this book.
My family got a jar, you know, when we were
really struggling, and you know, and it's just so fun
to connect with people in that way, like we didn't
give the jar, but somebody did and it was a
direct result from reading a book that you know.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
So yeah, it's it's fantastic.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Well, now you have the Christmas Jars cook Book, which
is so timely with the holidays and everybody in the
kitchen and creating beautiful dishes and foods and desserts for kids.
But as I was reading through it, it just again
with the ugly crying because there's so many beautiful stories
(15:20):
woven in. It's not just a book of recipes.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Yeah, I'll go ahead.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
I just a shout out to our dear friend Heidi
at the publisher. She's someone who has been there since
the beginning for twenty years and she runs Shadow Mountains
kind of their cookbook arm among a million other hats
that she wears. And we were on a call about
a year and a half ago, almost two years ago,
(15:45):
brainstorming about how to celebrate the twenty year anniversary and
what we could do and what could we give back
to the movement for all it has done for our
family and for one another. And that's where this idea
for this Christmas Shars cookbook came from. So if she's
listening right now, Heidi, we love you. We're thankful for
you and for the team there. Without her and Shadow Mountain,
(16:06):
this wouldn't be here today. And how fun to be
able to do a project with my wife where she
did all the hard work and I just got to
taste stuff.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
So, Cody, did you try every recipe? Did you actually
create all of these wonderful delicacies and stuff? Yes?
Speaker 4 (16:29):
Wow, so create they Some of them were recipes that
had been in my family, you know, forever. Some were
recipes that our family had, you know, come in contact
with and then changed and made them you know, significant
to us in whatever way. The same with the crafts,
(16:49):
like I you know, Christmas time is just a fun
time to I don't know, see what you can do
with all the stuff that's been sitting in your craft
room all year.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Long, right, all inexpensive and easy to do and nothing,
nothing elaborate. This is not a cookbook that will break
the bank to make the things on the pages, right.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
Cody, Right, It's not a cookbook that you're going to
need to get a Christmas jar on your porch to
be able to buy the Madagascar vanilla that is.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
Yes, yeah, no, it is nothing like that. Just meant
to be fun gathered, you know, gather your kids, gather yourself,
have some fun.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Give it away, yeah, make it to give away. That's
one of our favorite things to say about the project
is we wanted something that in fact, there's you know,
this tongue in cheek disclaimer that if you buy the
book and you make the things in the book, you
cannot keep the things that you've made, must give them
just in the spirit of Christmas jar. So we hope
that that's what people will do, is that they'll make something,
(17:49):
put it on someone's porch much like they did a jar,
and bring a smile to someone's face.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
Amen. Amen. There's an old Michael W. Smith song that
I love called love is Loved Till You Give it Away.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
It's a beautiful song, but it's a true sentiment when
you when you give it away, whether it's your time
or your energy, or your resources or just thoughtfulness, prayers, whatever,
that's when it transforms from a thought to.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Love, and then it only right. The more you give,
the more it grows. It's this investment in yourself and
and your heart and your.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
Soul and in eternity, in eternity. You know, when you
give something away from your heart that has ripple effects
that go, you know, across time, across eternity. The people
that have been impacted Jason by that original book and
(18:51):
those original acts of love, do you think they will ever, ever, ever,
ever forget that?
Speaker 2 (18:57):
No, no, no, And Cody alluded to it. There are
generations now, I think in the Brewbaker family in Kentucky,
fans of your show, by the way, who their children
are now in college, their two sons, and they have
no memories without Christmas Jars is a part of their
life because they were there on that very first year
(19:20):
in two thousand and five, six and seven as little ones.
And to think that their entire childhood Christmas memories are
tied to this tradition and blessing lives in their local
community with jar after jar after jar, it's just so humbling.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
I was going to say humbling. That was the word
that was in my mind, humbling. I recently got active
on social media. I mean, I've always been on Facebook
and I've always been on Instagram. But a year ago
I joined TikTok because somebody had done a silly viral
video about me and the only way to watch it
was to actually give in and join. And I had
(19:56):
resisted it because I'm just not a techy person. I
don't want to be sitting there, you know, on a
device all day. But I'm so glad I did, because,
like you said, generations, generations of people have written this
year saying I grew up with you, my mom grew
(20:18):
up with you. I love you because you remind me
of time with my grandma, and now I get to
share that with my daughter, and it's like, oh, such
a gift to the heart. So, Cody, how many how
many kids? How big are they now? Last time we talked,
(20:39):
they were all little?
Speaker 4 (20:41):
Yes, so still four and they are all adults. So
our youngest son is currently serving a mission in Thailand
right now, and he's doing very well, loving that.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
Our next up are.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Now is that the two year mission?
Speaker 3 (21:00):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (21:02):
Yeah, and you don't you don't get to visit much
during that two years. It's no kind of letting go, Yes.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
You do. We do, we do. They did make one
change from when our daughter went. We do get to
talk to him once a week, so that is nice
on the phone. So that's nice.
Speaker 4 (21:22):
This will be the first Christmas without him in the house,
and so yeah, it'll be a little weird.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
But are they all close enough that you'll get time
together during the holidays? I mean, except for Thailand, obviously, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
They are not.
Speaker 4 (21:34):
They well, the one, our oldest son still lives here
with us. He runs his own business. And then our
two daughters are out west. They're in Utah along with
our grandchildren.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
So they spread their wings. They did everything you wanted
them to do, became fiercely independent and incredibly loved and successful,
and flew and started their own nest.
Speaker 5 (21:58):
Outside of either sight. I'm like, why why did you
listen to me?
Speaker 1 (22:03):
And becomes wind depended.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
Who was just what was she eight back then when
we delivered that first jar? Such a tender and dutiful
big sister back then? She now has five of her
own little luckies.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
Yes, and by the way.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
If you pick up the cookbook on that front page,
you see four of the five were here with us
when the cookbook was laid out and designed. The other
was on our Way. A little Birdie is not pictured,
but she's the newest of the five. Isn't that just.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
So?
Speaker 2 (22:44):
All the crafts are named for them and for members
of our family.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Well, I loved it. My sister brought it to me
a couple of weeks ago, and I thought, you know,
I'm going to look for some good recipes in here.
And I started reading and like I said, I started
ugly crying because there's so many tender stories and traditions
woven in each page. It's beautifully done.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
Thank you again.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
Publishers don't get enough credit for the work that they
do to envision these projects, and just so thankful for
the support that we've received from them. Christmas books don't
usually live for twenty years Tililah. So what a blessing
is that they believe that they had They had more
than a book. They believed that they had a movement.
And that's really what it's become. It's about so much
(23:33):
more than a book or a movie or even a cookbook.
It's really about the lives, as you said, that have
been changed around the world.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Well, I pray that God continues the movement continues to
bless people continues to enlarge hearts. It enlarges your heart
when you give from the heart.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Thank you for the good that you do in the world.
We're grateful for you influence.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Thank you. One of my favorite passages is this is
my commandment that you love one another that your joy
may be full.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
Amen.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
That says it all. When you love one another, really
truly love one another, not just in words. I play
love songs all night long. They mean nothing. They mean
absolutely nothing if you don't put it into action.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Yeah. Right, That same versue you referenced, you know, goes
on to say, if you want to be known as
his disciple, if you want to be known as one
of his true followers, and this is the only option
is to love the way that he loved.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
So what are the.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
That's hard, that's that's that that requires sacrifice, like the
ultimate sacrifice.
Speaker 5 (24:50):
I was just listening this morning and his where the
suns of thunder. We're arguing, we want to be setting
next to you, we want we want the top Spoty goes, Really,
I don't think you know what you're asking there, guys.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
It's going to be a little painful to achieve.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
Yeah, we just try our best right, that's all we
can do.
Speaker 4 (25:14):
Well.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
I hope people get Christmas Jars Cookbook, but I hope
if they have not read the original Christmas Jars. I
hope if anybody is listening to this podcast or listening
to the story and has not been blessed with the
original Christmas Jars, that they get that and then after
they've read it and after they've found a jar. And
(25:37):
I love that in Christmas Jars Cookbook, you say, if
you don't have the finances, you know, put a craft
in there for your neighbor's kids to do, or put
a recipe in there, or put some mac and cheese
in there, you know, a box of something that just
whatever the blessing is that you can give and give
(25:58):
it away. And so I'm hoping people get the original
Christmas Jars, read it, and then give it away, not
just the jar, but the book. Pass it on well.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Because this is the first radio interview Cody and I
have ever done together. In fact, it's her first radio
interview ever, let me just say that if you pick
the book up and you don't read a single word,
that's okay because the photos are magnificent, and since you've
seen the book Dalilah. You know how true that is.
They're stunning and that's all her.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
So you know, this is not a video podcast. It
should be, because we do videotape all of them. It's
an audio podcast. But on page twenty eight, there's a
picture of seashells that you have decopaged, and I just
I opened it up and my nine year old started
(26:50):
squealing because on my dining room table right now are
a bunch of napkins holiday napkins that I picked up
up at a thrift store and I was carefully peeling
the layers apart so the kids could decopage the seashells.
And my nine year old Paul says, Mom, did they
(27:12):
get this idea from you? And I'm yes, absolutely, but
he was so proud that we're doing decopage seashells, you know,
which is a project that, because we live close enough
to the beach, costs nothing. It's upt some flimsy napkins,
(27:32):
so fun projects, fun craft projects, and it looks like
delicious recipes. We exchange gifts with those we care about
at Christmas time. My guests today are exchanging the gift
of meaningful ideas from the heart that celebrate the spirit
of the season. We'll be chatting with them a little
(27:54):
more after I and wrap another of my podcast sponsors.
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or learn about the other ways you can get involved.
That's Mercyships dot org. So, Jason and Cody, I know
that that it's been twenty years since the original Christmas Jars,
but you haven't been just like setting around taking pictures
of your your creations for the cookbook. Over the last
(29:27):
twenty years, what are you guys doing? Oh, boy, and
raising babies and raising ground babies, all the things.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Now we have I've written a few more books, twenty
twenty books since that one, A couple more that are
in the Christmas Jars universe, as they say, some other novels,
a little bit of nonfiction. As we mentioned earlier, the
Christmas Jars movie, which I highly recommend people check out.
I might be the only author dumb enough to say
the book might not be as good as the movie.
(29:57):
You most say, it's well, whoa you.
Speaker 3 (30:00):
Have ever, ever, ever, ever ever ever heard that?
Speaker 2 (30:04):
Oh, I'm telling you, the movie is so so good.
They did a terrific job. And lately, BOYD For the
last few years, we have been involved in this another
sort of an organic viral movement called the Kindness Card
movement that launched kind of unexpectedly in our lives about
three years ago and has led to us giving away
(30:24):
more than fifty thousand dollars in gift cards for meals
to the un house and the lonely, and the wandering,
and those that are a little bit hungry, and that's
now become a formal nonprofit that we're standing up in
twenty twenty six and it's been such a blessing to
meet people now in thirty three states, we've given these
cards away for meals and gotten to meet some people
(30:47):
who more than a little bit of food, need a
little bit of love.
Speaker 1 (30:51):
And how do people find out about all these things?
How can they contact you if they want to get
involved with Christmas jars, Kindness cards or just putting love
into action being the You know, there's a great quote
that God wants us to the blessed of the feet
of those who bring good news, and that's what you're doing,
(31:16):
your hands and feet doing good work and bringing good news.
Speaker 2 (31:23):
I appreciate that. I always like to tell people that
you can't be the hands and feed of the Lord
unless you're first the eyes. You have to have your
eyes open to see the needs of other people. And
now that's all we're trying to do with these different projects.
So you can visit Jasonoffright dot com, the Kindnesscard Movement
dot com and see some of our press appearances around
(31:45):
the country and write up some different newspapers, magazines and
websites and all the things links to the books. But
most importantly, we would just invite people to just go
do something this holiday season for someone, whether it's a
Christmas jar, or a kindness card or a plate of cookies,
just go see someone and love them the way that
God does.
Speaker 1 (32:04):
You know, local fire stations get really excited when you
bring in plates of cookies and cukcakes. Great Cody and Jason,
thank you, and God just continue to bless you, Bless
your hearts, bless your families, your kids, your grandkids, and
everything you put your hand to.
Speaker 3 (32:23):
Well, thank you, Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
Merry Christmas.
Speaker 3 (32:26):
Merry Christmas to you.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Jason Wright, Cody Wright. Your time has been such a gift.
Your message is beautiful, It's important, and I hope you
continue to share it far and wide. And I am
especially grateful to you for being with us twenty years
ago and again today. The Christmas Jars cookbook marks two
(32:49):
decades of a kindness movement that has changed countless lives.
In it, Cody and Jason invite you to cook, to craft,
to connect, ah to connect with others in new creative ways.
It is available wherever books are sold. It includes a
special section of personal Christmas Jar memories from the Right family,
(33:14):
including the children that grew up with the phenomenon, Oakley, JD. Jason,
and Colson Oakley, JD. Cason, and Colson, each contributing their
stories of meaningful moments. Twenty years on, The Right's family's
message remains the same as that first year. Small, simple
(33:36):
acts of kindness can change lives, sometimes even your own.
Merry Christmas, my friends. I hope you are safe and
well and feeling loved and valued. We are celebrating a beautiful,
miraculous season. If you aren't putting up a single twinkling
(33:57):
light or even exchanging one gift, I hope you're still
able to feel the Christmas spirit in your heart. To
that end, I'll leave you with a quote from one
of my favorite Christmas characters, The Grinch. It came without ribbons,
it came without tags, It came without packages, boxes or bags.
(34:21):
And he puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What
of Christmas? He thought, doesn't come from a store? Maybe
Christmas perhaps means a little bit more. Wishing you all
(34:45):
the joys all the love of the season. Let's meet
again here next year on Season eight of Love Someone.
Until then, join me each evening as I share Christmas
music and stories from the heart with you via the radio.
Lord bless you, and take some time out of your
(35:06):
busy holiday schedule to slow down and love someone
Well, friends, it's here or nearly here. Christmas, that is
the big day. So how are you holding up? Are
you stressed and depressed or do you feel the joy?
The season is meant to inspire If you're struggling, today's
(00:26):
podcast guest might be able to help. Twenty years ago,
a book called Christmas Jars hit the shelves, a heartwarming
story about an aspiring journalist, Hope, who discovers a jar
of money left on her doorstep after her apartment was
(00:47):
broken into. Hope's curiosity leads her to investigate the holiday
phenomenon of jars filled with money anonymously donating to those
in need, and she uncovers the family who started the tradition.
More important than the gifters' identities, Hope learns about love, forgiveness,
(01:13):
and the true meaning of Christmas. The two thousand and
five New York Times bestseller, written by Jason F. Wright,
inspired a viral real world tradition. It led millions of
people to start their own Christmas Jars tradition, creating a
cycle of giving and kindness. And while the story of
(01:36):
Hope was fictional, the Christmas Jars tradition was not. It
was based on a personal family practice of Jason and
his wife Cody, who tell me the very first Christmas
Jar was literally a recycled pickle jar on the right's
family's kitchen counter, sticky because Jason forgot to rinse it out.
(02:00):
It was just a young family tossing in spare change,
planning to give it away at Christmas time. When the
book was first released, they hoped a few people might
pick up on the idea. Instead, families, classrooms, churches, and
entire neighborhoods joined in this tradition every state in the
(02:23):
US and more than a dozen other countries. To date,
there have been millions, millions, millions of dollars given away, and,
as Jason puts it, lives changed on both sides of
the jar. The movement grew into a book sequel, a
feature film, a podcast, and thousands of kindness stories. From simple,
(02:50):
meaningful and humble beginnings, great things are born now celebrating
its twenty year anniversary, and Cody have just released Christmas
Jars cookbook, which is in the right tradition far more
than this title suggest. It was inspired by the question
(03:12):
they received often, what else can we put in the jars?
I mean, besides money? Cody and Jason answered, offering a
host of new ideas, recipes, mixes, crafts, gifts made by
hand in heart. Today, as the big day draws near
and we're scrambling to finish our to do list, I
(03:36):
am so delighted to welcome Jason and Cody Wright to
Love Someone. These two know the reason for the season,
and they are happy to share some very real ways
we can get around bypass the over commercialization and joyfully
(03:56):
celebrate that Babe in the main, I'm so happy to
be having this conversation and gifting it to you, just
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for ten percent off your order. That's Sherries Hazel Cream
and Love twenty four. Welcome my Friend, Welcome aboard to
Love Someone Holiday Style Holiday Edition and with me on
today's show, Jason and Cody Wright, how many how many
(06:11):
years are you too? Like celebrating this team?
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Oh, you better take that one.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Cody, of course, very good, Jason, very good. That was
a wise move, noticing just like a basketball player, he
just pivoted there on the court and said, let's hand
that out to the wife.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
So I think I think this year thirty two, right.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Thirty two?
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Yeah, that is amazing, And how many this Isn't this
the anniversary of the original Christmas Jars book.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
It is twenty years and you probably don't remember because
you've interviewed eleven million, five hundred thousand people since then.
But I was on your show that first year you were.
I think you were one of my very first In fact,
you may have been the very first national radio interview
that I did, and that was back in two thousand
(07:06):
and five.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
And then after that, I because Craig Kitchen at the
time was working with me and Glynn, we passed you
off and boom, next thing I know, I see you
all over the place. I was like, thank you Jesus.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Oh, thank you Delilah.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
That's what we say.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
You were hugely going. So I still have that original
interview that we did saved on my laptop. It's fun
to go back and reminisce about those good old days.
Hard to believe it's been twenty years.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Do you feel like it's been twenty years? Do you
two feel like twenty years of passing to that conversation,
because to me, it's been like two months, maybe maybe
two years.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
Well, yes and no.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
I mean when I look at our kids and where
they are now versus where they were then, yes, it
feels like a lot of time has passed. But year
to year, no, you know, I mean it's still we
still get stories every year, which is fantastic. That's like
our favorite part about Christmas is the stories that start
rolling in of people who gave a jar, people who
(08:14):
got a jar, and so in that respect, no, it
feels still brand new, like, you know, like it did then.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
So let's go back for those who weren't around twenty
years ago. It's so weird that I have young adults
that were born after nine to eleven, Like I have
children who are working in the workfield, who have careers,
who pay taxes who were born after nine to eleven,
(08:43):
which just like blows my mind. But let's go back
to the original Christmas jars because it was such a sweet,
simple story and such a sweet, simple, generous concept, and
it snowballed into this beautiful, generous movement. So Jason, take
(09:07):
us back to the original story, the original book, the
original story of Hope.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Yeah, Hope. That's a great setup, isn't it. So we
found ourselves in the fall of two thousand and four
feeling like we wanted to do something different, a different
family tradition, something that got the kids involved, that wasn't
just a mom and dad thing. And so we came
up with a very simple idea of a jar on
(09:33):
the counter that we would put our spur change in
every night, back when we actually generated a fair amount
of change on a daily basis, right before the virtual
world we live in now. And that jar filled up
from mid October until Christmas Eve, and very much like
you might imagine in a Hallmark movie, we sat around
and came up with a list of people that might
benefit from the contents of that jar, and chose a
(09:57):
family from church that we knew, you know, it wasn't
going to change their life, but eighty something dollars would
be a blessing as it landed on their porch. And
so we bundled up and made that that jar delivery
in our little mini van and That's one of our
all time favorite family memories to think back on, not
realizing that that first jar on that first night would
(10:19):
become then a book and a movement in a movie.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
A book, a movement a movie. And if you were
to Gus, Jason or Cody, either one of you, how
many millions of dollars and how many thousands, millions of
lives have been touched by that one decision that one Hey,
(10:48):
you know, let's let's make Christmas magical and special in
a way that will you know, help truly help somebody.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Yeah, we we did a little bit of math a
couple of years ago, sat down with our company's attorney
and went through all the stories that had come in
that had dollar amounts attached to them, talked to the
publisher to sort of do a little bit of math
on how many books had sold, and we came up
(11:17):
with a figure around eight million dollars that we feel
is pretty safe and probably conservative. And the miracle of
that number is that's almost entirely loose change. I mean,
if you can visualize eight million dollars worth of pennies, nicolas, dimes,
and quarters, that's that's when it starts to really become
(11:37):
almost overwhelming the ripple effective that night.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
And how many years ago?
Speaker 3 (11:43):
Was that three years ago?
Speaker 2 (11:44):
So you could you could add another whatever five percent
onto that, maybe for a current number, but yeah, so
that was twenty years ago.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
That's amazing and lives how many? How many stories have
you gotten that just take your breath away. I got
a call last night from a listener who's been listener
for more than thirty years and her daughter was the
recipient of a double lung transplant three years ago and
(12:17):
when the one year mark passed, the donor's family reached
out and contacted them and they have become best best
best friends, these two moms. And I was ugly crying,
I mean snot running, ugly crying during the call. And
(12:38):
when people give selflessly, generously, whatever it is, it changes everything.
And you guys get story after story like that. I mean, Cody,
do you just sit there and snot cry and tissues
when people write to you and tell you how these
gifts have impacted them?
Speaker 4 (13:01):
Yes, I mean absolutely, I mean even I mean, you
know you have the big stories. I mean one of
my favorites isn't even a family who financially needed it,
but they you know, tragically and unexpectedly lost their father
Thanksgiving weekend, and two weeks later, their community lined They
(13:23):
were out for the evening and their community came and
lined the walkway to their house with jars filled with
candles and then on the porch where I don't know
what was it like twenty twenty to thirty jars filled
with money and notes and you know, just we're thinking
of you and we're here for you sort of thing.
(13:46):
And that one still resonates with me because there's so
many people out there who might financially not need the help,
but they need to be seen, they need to know
there are people they can lean on, you know. I
mean the financial thing is fantastic when you hear the
story of a family who didn't have Christmas and then
a jar ends up on their porch on Christmas, you know,
(14:07):
two days before Christmas, and they can go by gifts,
and I mean they're endless. The stories people tell people
whose houses burned down and jars show up to you know,
help them put their lives back together, and I mean
they go on and on, but yes, they I mean,
and throughout our life this is you know, twenty years
(14:30):
we just we just connected with someone who was like,
oh my goodness, I didn't know you wrote this book.
My family got a jar, you know, when we were
really struggling, and you know, and it's just so fun
to connect with people in that way, like we didn't
give the jar, but somebody did and it was a
direct result from reading a book that you know.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
So yeah, it's it's fantastic.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Well, now you have the Christmas Jars cook Book, which
is so timely with the holidays and everybody in the
kitchen and creating beautiful dishes and foods and desserts for kids.
But as I was reading through it, it just again
with the ugly crying because there's so many beautiful stories
(15:20):
woven in. It's not just a book of recipes.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Yeah, I'll go ahead.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
I just a shout out to our dear friend Heidi
at the publisher. She's someone who has been there since
the beginning for twenty years and she runs Shadow Mountains
kind of their cookbook arm among a million other hats
that she wears. And we were on a call about
a year and a half ago, almost two years ago,
(15:45):
brainstorming about how to celebrate the twenty year anniversary and
what we could do and what could we give back
to the movement for all it has done for our
family and for one another. And that's where this idea
for this Christmas Shars cookbook came from. So if she's
listening right now, Heidi, we love you. We're thankful for
you and for the team there. Without her and Shadow Mountain,
(16:06):
this wouldn't be here today. And how fun to be
able to do a project with my wife where she
did all the hard work and I just got to
taste stuff.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
So, Cody, did you try every recipe? Did you actually
create all of these wonderful delicacies and stuff? Yes?
Speaker 4 (16:29):
Wow, so create they Some of them were recipes that
had been in my family, you know, forever. Some were
recipes that our family had, you know, come in contact
with and then changed and made them you know, significant
to us in whatever way. The same with the crafts,
(16:49):
like I you know, Christmas time is just a fun
time to I don't know, see what you can do
with all the stuff that's been sitting in your craft
room all year.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Long, right, all inexpensive and easy to do and nothing,
nothing elaborate. This is not a cookbook that will break
the bank to make the things on the pages, right.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
Cody, Right, It's not a cookbook that you're going to
need to get a Christmas jar on your porch to
be able to buy the Madagascar vanilla that is.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
Yes, yeah, no, it is nothing like that. Just meant
to be fun gathered, you know, gather your kids, gather yourself,
have some fun.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Give it away, yeah, make it to give away. That's
one of our favorite things to say about the project
is we wanted something that in fact, there's you know,
this tongue in cheek disclaimer that if you buy the
book and you make the things in the book, you
cannot keep the things that you've made, must give them
just in the spirit of Christmas jar. So we hope
that that's what people will do, is that they'll make something,
(17:49):
put it on someone's porch much like they did a jar,
and bring a smile to someone's face.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
Amen. Amen. There's an old Michael W. Smith song that
I love called love is Loved Till You Give it Away.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
It's a beautiful song, but it's a true sentiment when
you when you give it away, whether it's your time
or your energy, or your resources or just thoughtfulness, prayers, whatever,
that's when it transforms from a thought to.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Love, and then it only right. The more you give,
the more it grows. It's this investment in yourself and
and your heart and your.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
Soul and in eternity, in eternity. You know, when you
give something away from your heart that has ripple effects
that go, you know, across time, across eternity. The people
that have been impacted Jason by that original book and
(18:51):
those original acts of love, do you think they will ever, ever, ever,
ever forget that?
Speaker 2 (18:57):
No, no, no, And Cody alluded to it. There are
generations now, I think in the Brewbaker family in Kentucky,
fans of your show, by the way, who their children
are now in college, their two sons, and they have
no memories without Christmas Jars is a part of their
life because they were there on that very first year
(19:20):
in two thousand and five, six and seven as little ones.
And to think that their entire childhood Christmas memories are
tied to this tradition and blessing lives in their local
community with jar after jar after jar, it's just so humbling.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
I was going to say humbling. That was the word
that was in my mind, humbling. I recently got active
on social media. I mean, I've always been on Facebook
and I've always been on Instagram. But a year ago
I joined TikTok because somebody had done a silly viral
video about me and the only way to watch it
was to actually give in and join. And I had
(19:56):
resisted it because I'm just not a techy person. I
don't want to be sitting there, you know, on a
device all day. But I'm so glad I did, because,
like you said, generations, generations of people have written this
year saying I grew up with you, my mom grew
(20:18):
up with you. I love you because you remind me
of time with my grandma, and now I get to
share that with my daughter, and it's like, oh, such
a gift to the heart. So, Cody, how many how
many kids? How big are they now? Last time we talked,
(20:39):
they were all little?
Speaker 4 (20:41):
Yes, so still four and they are all adults. So
our youngest son is currently serving a mission in Thailand
right now, and he's doing very well, loving that.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
Our next up are.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Now is that the two year mission?
Speaker 3 (21:00):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (21:02):
Yeah, and you don't you don't get to visit much
during that two years. It's no kind of letting go, Yes.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
You do. We do, we do. They did make one
change from when our daughter went. We do get to
talk to him once a week, so that is nice
on the phone. So that's nice.
Speaker 4 (21:22):
This will be the first Christmas without him in the house,
and so yeah, it'll be a little weird.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
But are they all close enough that you'll get time
together during the holidays? I mean, except for Thailand, obviously, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
They are not.
Speaker 4 (21:34):
They well, the one, our oldest son still lives here
with us. He runs his own business. And then our
two daughters are out west. They're in Utah along with
our grandchildren.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
So they spread their wings. They did everything you wanted
them to do, became fiercely independent and incredibly loved and successful,
and flew and started their own nest.
Speaker 5 (21:58):
Outside of either sight. I'm like, why why did you
listen to me?
Speaker 1 (22:03):
And becomes wind depended.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
Who was just what was she eight back then when
we delivered that first jar? Such a tender and dutiful
big sister back then? She now has five of her
own little luckies.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
Yes, and by the way.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
If you pick up the cookbook on that front page,
you see four of the five were here with us
when the cookbook was laid out and designed. The other
was on our Way. A little Birdie is not pictured,
but she's the newest of the five. Isn't that just.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
So?
Speaker 2 (22:44):
All the crafts are named for them and for members
of our family.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Well, I loved it. My sister brought it to me
a couple of weeks ago, and I thought, you know,
I'm going to look for some good recipes in here.
And I started reading and like I said, I started
ugly crying because there's so many tender stories and traditions
woven in each page. It's beautifully done.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
Thank you again.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
Publishers don't get enough credit for the work that they
do to envision these projects, and just so thankful for
the support that we've received from them. Christmas books don't
usually live for twenty years Tililah. So what a blessing
is that they believe that they had They had more
than a book. They believed that they had a movement.
And that's really what it's become. It's about so much
(23:33):
more than a book or a movie or even a cookbook.
It's really about the lives, as you said, that have
been changed around the world.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Well, I pray that God continues the movement continues to
bless people continues to enlarge hearts. It enlarges your heart
when you give from the heart.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Thank you for the good that you do in the world.
We're grateful for you influence.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Thank you. One of my favorite passages is this is
my commandment that you love one another that your joy
may be full.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
Amen.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
That says it all. When you love one another, really
truly love one another, not just in words. I play
love songs all night long. They mean nothing. They mean
absolutely nothing if you don't put it into action.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Yeah. Right, That same versue you referenced, you know, goes
on to say, if you want to be known as
his disciple, if you want to be known as one
of his true followers, and this is the only option
is to love the way that he loved.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
So what are the.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
That's hard, that's that's that that requires sacrifice, like the
ultimate sacrifice.
Speaker 5 (24:50):
I was just listening this morning and his where the
suns of thunder. We're arguing, we want to be setting
next to you, we want we want the top Spoty goes, Really,
I don't think you know what you're asking there, guys.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
It's going to be a little painful to achieve.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
Yeah, we just try our best right, that's all we
can do.
Speaker 4 (25:14):
Well.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
I hope people get Christmas Jars Cookbook, but I hope
if they have not read the original Christmas Jars. I
hope if anybody is listening to this podcast or listening
to the story and has not been blessed with the
original Christmas Jars, that they get that and then after
they've read it and after they've found a jar. And
(25:37):
I love that in Christmas Jars Cookbook, you say, if
you don't have the finances, you know, put a craft
in there for your neighbor's kids to do, or put
a recipe in there, or put some mac and cheese
in there, you know, a box of something that just
whatever the blessing is that you can give and give
(25:58):
it away. And so I'm hoping people get the original
Christmas Jars, read it, and then give it away, not
just the jar, but the book. Pass it on well.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Because this is the first radio interview Cody and I
have ever done together. In fact, it's her first radio
interview ever, let me just say that if you pick
the book up and you don't read a single word,
that's okay because the photos are magnificent, and since you've
seen the book Dalilah. You know how true that is.
They're stunning and that's all her.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
So you know, this is not a video podcast. It
should be, because we do videotape all of them. It's
an audio podcast. But on page twenty eight, there's a
picture of seashells that you have decopaged, and I just
I opened it up and my nine year old started
(26:50):
squealing because on my dining room table right now are
a bunch of napkins holiday napkins that I picked up
up at a thrift store and I was carefully peeling
the layers apart so the kids could decopage the seashells.
And my nine year old Paul says, Mom, did they
(27:12):
get this idea from you? And I'm yes, absolutely, but
he was so proud that we're doing decopage seashells, you know,
which is a project that, because we live close enough
to the beach, costs nothing. It's upt some flimsy napkins,
(27:32):
so fun projects, fun craft projects, and it looks like
delicious recipes. We exchange gifts with those we care about
at Christmas time. My guests today are exchanging the gift
of meaningful ideas from the heart that celebrate the spirit
of the season. We'll be chatting with them a little
(27:54):
more after I and wrap another of my podcast sponsors.
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or learn about the other ways you can get involved.
That's Mercyships dot org. So, Jason and Cody, I know
that that it's been twenty years since the original Christmas Jars,
but you haven't been just like setting around taking pictures
of your your creations for the cookbook. Over the last
(29:27):
twenty years, what are you guys doing? Oh, boy, and
raising babies and raising ground babies, all the things.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Now we have I've written a few more books, twenty
twenty books since that one, A couple more that are
in the Christmas Jars universe, as they say, some other novels,
a little bit of nonfiction. As we mentioned earlier, the
Christmas Jars movie, which I highly recommend people check out.
I might be the only author dumb enough to say
the book might not be as good as the movie.
(29:57):
You most say, it's well, whoa you.
Speaker 3 (30:00):
Have ever, ever, ever, ever ever ever heard that?
Speaker 2 (30:04):
Oh, I'm telling you, the movie is so so good.
They did a terrific job. And lately, BOYD For the
last few years, we have been involved in this another
sort of an organic viral movement called the Kindness Card
movement that launched kind of unexpectedly in our lives about
three years ago and has led to us giving away
(30:24):
more than fifty thousand dollars in gift cards for meals
to the un house and the lonely, and the wandering,
and those that are a little bit hungry, and that's
now become a formal nonprofit that we're standing up in
twenty twenty six and it's been such a blessing to
meet people now in thirty three states, we've given these
cards away for meals and gotten to meet some people
(30:47):
who more than a little bit of food, need a
little bit of love.
Speaker 1 (30:51):
And how do people find out about all these things?
How can they contact you if they want to get
involved with Christmas jars, Kindness cards or just putting love
into action being the You know, there's a great quote
that God wants us to the blessed of the feet
of those who bring good news, and that's what you're doing,
(31:16):
your hands and feet doing good work and bringing good news.
Speaker 2 (31:23):
I appreciate that. I always like to tell people that
you can't be the hands and feed of the Lord
unless you're first the eyes. You have to have your
eyes open to see the needs of other people. And
now that's all we're trying to do with these different projects.
So you can visit Jasonoffright dot com, the Kindnesscard Movement
dot com and see some of our press appearances around
(31:45):
the country and write up some different newspapers, magazines and
websites and all the things links to the books. But
most importantly, we would just invite people to just go
do something this holiday season for someone, whether it's a
Christmas jar, or a kindness card or a plate of cookies,
just go see someone and love them the way that
God does.
Speaker 1 (32:04):
You know, local fire stations get really excited when you
bring in plates of cookies and cukcakes. Great Cody and Jason,
thank you, and God just continue to bless you, Bless
your hearts, bless your families, your kids, your grandkids, and
everything you put your hand to.
Speaker 3 (32:23):
Well, thank you, Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
Merry Christmas.
Speaker 3 (32:26):
Merry Christmas to you.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Jason Wright, Cody Wright. Your time has been such a gift.
Your message is beautiful, It's important, and I hope you
continue to share it far and wide. And I am
especially grateful to you for being with us twenty years
ago and again today. The Christmas Jars cookbook marks two
(32:49):
decades of a kindness movement that has changed countless lives.
In it, Cody and Jason invite you to cook, to craft,
to connect, ah to connect with others in new creative ways.
It is available wherever books are sold. It includes a
special section of personal Christmas Jar memories from the Right family,
(33:14):
including the children that grew up with the phenomenon, Oakley, JD. Jason,
and Colson Oakley, JD. Cason, and Colson, each contributing their
stories of meaningful moments. Twenty years on, The Right's family's
message remains the same as that first year. Small, simple
(33:36):
acts of kindness can change lives, sometimes even your own.
Merry Christmas, my friends. I hope you are safe and
well and feeling loved and valued. We are celebrating a beautiful,
miraculous season. If you aren't putting up a single twinkling
(33:57):
light or even exchanging one gift, I hope you're still
able to feel the Christmas spirit in your heart. To
that end, I'll leave you with a quote from one
of my favorite Christmas characters, The Grinch. It came without ribbons,
it came without tags, It came without packages, boxes or bags.
(34:21):
And he puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What
of Christmas? He thought, doesn't come from a store? Maybe
Christmas perhaps means a little bit more. Wishing you all
(34:45):
the joys all the love of the season. Let's meet
again here next year on Season eight of Love Someone.
Until then, join me each evening as I share Christmas
music and stories from the heart with you via the radio.
Lord bless you, and take some time out of your
(35:06):
busy holiday schedule to slow down and love someone
Host
Delilah
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